Animals in North Stonington Will be Tested To Determine if They Are Wolf/Dog Hybrids

Connecticutís Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) said today that DNA tests will be conducted on animals in North Stonington to determine if they are wolf/dog hybrids, which are illegal in Connecticut.

DEEPís Environmental Conservation (EnCon) Police say that the owner of the animals, Ashbow Sebastian of Lantern Hill Rd., North Stonington, agreed to allow the testing. A veterinarian will take tissue samples from the animals to send to a lab at the University of California, Davis, which specializes in such work.

EnCon officers said Sebastian is cooperating with their investigation and that he was warned to keep the seven animals in question under control and on his property while tests results are awaited.

It is illegal to poses a wolf/dog hybrid in Connecticut. If test results show the animals to be of this type they can be taken from the property by EnCon officers.

EnCon officers acted after reports from neighbors in the Long Pond area on the North Stonington/Ledyard border that they were being threatened by menacing dogs that could be wolf/dog hybrids.